Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Public Health Perspective Of The Higher Education Experiences Of Women Studying Nursing: A Hermeneutic Inquiry Into Commencement And Progression, Lesley Jane Andrew

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

While student retention is a central goal across higher education, the projected shortage in the Australian health workforce has intensified its importance to undergraduate nursing.

Nursing degrees attract a higher proportion of mature-age women students than ever before. More are therefore beginning university at life stage characterised by marriage (or co-habitation) and traditional family structures. Nursing retention strategies require an understanding of the unique university experiences of these women, however, this is missing in the nursing literature. This study is the first to explore the experiences of these women students, doing so from the perspective of Bachelor of Science (Nursing) …

The Role Of Culture In Theory Of Mind, Leslie Linares Pava

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Theory of Mind (ToM) is defined as the ability to understand our own and otherpeople’s mental representations, characterised by individual perspectives and motives,with potential for directing human behaviour (Kuntoro, Saraswati, Peterson & Slaughter,2013). Over the past 30 years this concept has captured the attention of cognitive anddevelopmental psychologists and it has been established that typically developed childrenfrom individualistic, mainly from Anglo (English-speaking) countries are most likely toacquire this ability at the age of four.

In the past decade, a growing interest in differences between children fromindividualistic and collestivistic cultural orientations led researchers to question the extentto which ToM is influenced …

Their Sorrow, Their Story: The Lived Experience Of Individuals Impacted By The Death Of Special Forces Members In The 1996 Black Hawk Accident, Marion Ann Smyth

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

On the 12 June 1996, the Australian Special Forces were conducting night-time counterterrorism training when two Black Hawk helicopters transporting Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) troops collided mid-air. Eighteen personnel were killed, including members from the elite SASR and crew from the 5th Aviation Regiment. In the aftermath of this accident a charity, the Special Air Service Resources Trust, was established to provide ongoing support to the dependants of those killed. This trust is now the Special Air Service Resources Fund (SASRF), and it continues to support the dependants of those killed and the injured from the accident.

There is …

The Experience Of Role Balance Among Australian Working Women With Multigenerational Caring Responsibilities, Kiah Lee Evans

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Approximately 10% of women in developed countries are working sandwich generation women, who combine paid employment with ongoing multigenerational caring responsibilities for at least one child under 18 years and one parent or parent-in-law. This role combination is expected to become more common due to the increased workforce participation of women, childbirth at an older age, reduced fertility rates, an ageing population and a trend towards community based care. Although there are numerous benefits related to membership in the working sandwich generation, there are also a range of costs related to role participation and quality of life. In particular, these …

Motherhood First: An Interpretive Description Of The Experience Of Mature Age Female Students With Dependent Children At One Regional University Campus In Australia, Amanda Draper

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study explored the experience of mature age female students with dependent children at one regional university campus in Western Australia, Edith Cowan University South West (ECUSW). These students are one of many student groups whose experience differs to that of more traditional students such as young, unmarried, and well-supported school-leaver students. Although all students enter university with experiences that make them valuable to the university institution, mature age female students with dependent children enter university with unique knowledge, experiences and attitudes making them potentially valuable contributors to their own and others’ learning (Martins & Anthony, 2007). Whilst at university, …

Antenatal Clinic: Using Ethnographic Methods To Listen To The Voices Of Pregnant Adolescents, Deborah Ireson

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Aim: This research aims to explore the motivating reasons and external influences that affect pregnant adolescents’ reasons for attending an antenatal clinic. Background: Pregnancy during adolescence has been researched from perceived ‘poor’ decision making during pregnancy and postnatal perspectives involving high-risk outcomes for mother and baby. Antenatal clinic attendance by pregnant adolescents is often characterised by late and infrequent attendance, limiting midwifery contact with this inexperienced group. Gaps in the literature exist where the real-time voices of pregnant adolescents offer their current experiences of antenatal clinic as a relevant means to inform midwifery practice.

Research design: Using ethnographic methods, this …

The Construction Of Wellbeing For Solo Mothers: An Exploration Of The Relationship Between Work, Welfare, Social Justice And Wellbeing For Solo Mothers, Kathryn M. Russell

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Using a sequential transformative mixed methods approach prioritising qualitative data, the construction of subjective wellbeing of Australian solo mothers was explored in relation to work, welfare and social justice. A purposive sample of 73 solo mothers was recruited for the quantitative part of the study and 15 solo mothers were selected from the sample to interview for the qualitative component. The study was undertaken on a background of welfare reform announced in the Federal Budget for 2005-2006 with changes taking effect from July 1, 2006 affecting many solo mothers with young children. Initial analyses of data obtained through the Personal …

Uncertain Surrenders: The Coexistence Of Beauty And Menace In The Maternal Bond And Photography, Toni Wilkinson

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This creative inquiry is grounded in my maternal experiences and situated within a feminist approach to photography that develops a discussion of maternal passion and acknowledges the conflicting dynamics of the maternal relationship. The research includes a book of photographs of my children, Georgia and Henry, titled Uncertain surrenders, and a written component explicating the theoretical imperatives that motivated the project. I suggest that the coexistence of beauty and menace within the photographic portraits exquisitely represents the complexity of maternal passion. Julia Kristeva (2005) says, “we lack a reflection on maternal passion” in Western culture because it is an ambiguous …

The 'Good Mother Syndrome' And Playgroup: The Lived Experience Of A Group Of Mothers, Bronwyn Harman

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Using a qualitative approach, utilising a semi-structured narrative interviewing technique, I interviewed 21 participants through one-on-one interviews and focus groups to examine how participants experience parenting and playgroup. The good mother syndrome refers to the social, historical and cultural determination of how mothers are supposed to act. It defines what a good mother is supposed to be, subject to political, cultural and economic influences. Further, the good mother syndrome is inextricably linked to challenges to identity, support in the mothering role, and expectations of motherhood. Playgroups are communities of women bounded by internal and external demands, where they support each …

Professional Perceptions Of Domestic Violence: The Relationship Between Causal Explanations And Views On Prevention And Intervention, Rachel A. Taylor

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The 1970s saw a shift of focus by professions responding to domestic violence cases perpetrated by men towards women within Australia. Their focus was targeted at the factors that surround male perpetrators? violent behaviour. As a result, a number of alternative interventions were established based on a new understanding of domestic violence. Wider explanations have therefore led professional groups to form different angles of approach. Consequently researchers have found that perceptions towards domestic violence and the effectiveness of relevant interventions remain controversial across professions (Laing, 2002). Based on the literature supporting the importance of consistent professional perceptions and responses towards …

Kimberley Women : Their Experiences Of Making A Remote Locality Home, Elaine Rabbitt

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

In previous histories of Western Australia, pre-dominantly written from a male Eurocentric viewpoint, scant attention has been drawn to the everyday lives of country women. The study described in this dissertation explores the responses of women to the challenges of relocation and settlement within a remote locality in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.

An Examination Of Fathers' Satisfaction With The Legal System: Exploring The Concept In Relation To Fathers' Experience With The Family Law Court Of Western Australia, Janelle M. Hawes

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Although the importance of fathers' post divorce contact with their children has been linked with a better outcome for the children and is valued by society, studies in the United States and Australia have suggested that up to 30 percent of fathers do not maintain regular contact with their children post divorce. To date, the literature has focused mainly on demographic variables and some personal characteristics of the father. An area, which has been neglected, is the influence of fathers' perception of legal proceedings and rules on their contact with their children post divorce. This study aimed to explore the …

Father Role Identity : An Exploration Of The Construct And Its Measurement, Michelle J. Gobetz

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

There is relatively little research in respect of father’s and their post-divorce contact with their children. Preliminary research suggests father’s identification with the parent role may play an influential role in this contact. Though the Self Perceptions of the Parental Role Questionnaire (SPPE) has been utilised to measure father’s identification with the parent role, the psychometric properties of this instrument have yet to be systemically investigated. The lack of psychometric information about the SPPR seriously limits this instruments utility. The aim of the current study was twofold. Firstly, to determine the psychometric properties of a formal measure of parent role …

Multiply-Mediated Households : Space And Power Reflected In Everyday Media Use, Donell Joy Holloway

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study investigates how contemporary Australian families incorporate the consumption of multiple media technologies within their home environments. It uses an approach similar to David Morley's (1986) Family Television where he explored the consumption of television programs in the context of everyday family life. He viewed the household (or family) as the key to constructing understandings of the television audience; where there were gendered regimes of watching, and where program choice often reflected existing power relationships in the home. However since then (a time when most families had only one television set) the media environment of many homes has changed. …

A Study Of The Representation Of Marriage And The Family In The Film Muriel's Wedding, Zoe Chambers

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Representations of the family in the Australian popular media in recent years appear to have shifted from a traditional nuclear family form to more diverse constructions, and the family has become an institution that is more often associated with dysfunction rather than the idealised notions of caring and support. This study will examine this re-evaluation of the nuclear family through a close analysis of the film Muriel's Wedding (1994). How the discourses of gender and nationalism intersect with those of marriage and family will be studied, in an attempt to understand this reappraisal of the Australian family.

Constructing Compatibility : Managing Breastfeeding And Weaning From The Mothers' Perspective, Yvonne Louise Hauck

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Breastfeeding involves phases of initiation, continuation, and weaning. Research to date has focused upon its initiation and continuation rather than the later phases, when the child is weaned from the breast. Selective aspects relating to weaning have been explored to determine infant feeding practices such as the timing of food introduction. However, that research has focused upon developing countries where the impact of infant feeding patterns and weaning practices have a significant impact on infant growth and child health. The weaning process or final phase of breastfeeding from the mothers' perspective has not been examined within the western world. In …

"Family" As Constructed By Adoptees After Making Contact With Their Birth Families, Adrianne Moloney

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Legislative changes during the 1980s and 1990s opened confidential adoption files of the past enabling many adoptees and relinquishing parents to establish contact. This study examines the way in which the meaning of family is constructed by adoptees who have made contact with their birth relatives, and how these constructions were altered after contact. The ways in which biological and social definitions of family are constructed and contested in these settings is explored. Sociological definitions of family are discussed and the gap between ideal notions of 'family' and the lived experience of 'family' is explored. The study focuses on the …

Developmental Tasks And Learning Processes Which Influence Life-Satisfaction In Retirement, Robin F. Clarke

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study identified the developmental tasks undertaken by eight retired males during the retirement transition, described the processes of! earning and adjustment and discussed their influence on life-satisfaction. The study was an exploratory, descriptive case study, designed as an initial investigation into the phenomena of retirement in the 1990s. A qualitative design was appropriate to the study for it permitted the investigation of a wide range of inter related variables. The major instrument was a semi-structured but open-ended interview designed to gather comprehensive data relevant to understanding the retirement experience. An iterative process was used, which involved interviewing each participant …

A Qualitative Evaluation Of A Bereavement Service: An Analysis Of The Experiences Of Service Consumers And Providers, Ruth Marquis

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Human service evaluation has become an important consideration in service delivery due to an increased demand for accountability by funding bodies. Time constraints, financial constraints and political interests, however, influence the implementation and outcomes of evaluation projects. As a result, quantitative methods are most frequently used. Information obtained as the result of quantitative studies which are politically expedient may present a superficial view of a program and overlook the fundamental issues of program delivery which are important to participants. Identification of the valued aspects of program involvement and areas of unmet need from participants' perspectives may remain unknown as a …